Spot Report by OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM): SMM long-range unmanned aerial vehicle crashes near contact line in Donetsk region

This report is for the media and the general public.

At 2045 hrs, 18 April, the SMM launched a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight over government- and non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region. At 0126 hrs, 19 April, while near Vuhledar (government-controlled, 48km south-west of Donetsk), the UAV encountered dual GPS signal interference, assessed as due to jamming.[1] 

This interference continued until 0235 hrs, when, while attempting to navigate the UAV to its ground control station near Stepanivka (government-controlled, 54km north of Donetsk), the SMM lost control of the UAV. 

SMM assesses that it crashed at 0236 hrs, in an area west of Horlivka (non-government-controlled, 39km north-east of Donetsk) and north-east of Novhorodske (government-controlled, 35km north of Donetsk).

It is premature to draw conclusions about the causes of the incident. The area of the presumed crash site is near the contact line and considered heavily mined, making SMM access difficult. During the day on 19 April, weather conditions prevented a medium-range UAV flight. The SMM is making urgent efforts to locate its long-range UAV, and will report relevant findings.

[1] The interference could have originated from anywhere within a radius of kilometres from the UAV’s position.